It is widely acknowledged that children spend excessive time viewing television and that this has resulted in lower scholastic achievement and lessened social development. Such viewing includes not only broadcast television, but also time spent playing video games, watching video cassettes, etc. Compounding the problem is the fact that children are often home along without parental supervision. While a number of devices have been patented which attempt to address the problem of excessive television viewing, they suffer from several drawbacks. The objective of this invention is to address these drawbacks by providing a viewing control device that is extremely cost-effective, very simple to use, and that can be attached to any television set without modification to the set.
The prior art includes several devices which attempt to control television viewing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,623 (Bonneau), describes a device which is incorporated into the television set and can be programmed to inhibit viewing of certain channels. However, this device must be designed into the television set and therefore cannot be used with the tens of millions of television sets already in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,033 (Reidenouer), describes an apparatus which uses magnetic tokens to activate a timer which controls power to the television. However, because many modern televisions are programmable, switching the television's power will require that the television be re-programmed each time it is turned on. Furthermore, the apparatus does not have the capability to inhibit viewing at selectable times of the day nor does it have the capability to automatically impose, for each day of the week, a limit in the allowable number of viewing hours.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,901 (Maclay et. al.) describes an apparatus which acts a s a timer and which controls power to the television. As described previously, disrupting power to modern televisions often necessitates re-programming of the television. Furthermore, the apparatus has no capability to provide multiple children with a unique number of viewing hours nor does it have the capability to inhibit viewing at selectable times of the day.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,825 (Wilts et. al.) describes an apparatus which keeps track of the number of hours an appliance is used and displays this number. When a pre-set number of hours is exceeded, the apparatus flashes the display to alert the parents. Therefore, this apparatus requires parental intervention to inhibit further viewing. Furthermore, the apparatus has no capability to provide multiple children with a unique number of viewing hours nor does it have the capability to inhibit viewing at selectable times of the day.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,696 (Beier) describes an apparatus which does provide multiple children with a programmable number of viewing hours. The apparatus also has the capability to inhibit viewing at selectable times of the day. However, the apparatus suffers from the disadvantage described above inherent in switching the televisions power on and off. Furthermore, the apparatus is very complex and expensive, containing over 30 pushbuttons and switches. The apparatus' display is numeric, not graphical, resulting in a display that is more difficult for children to understand. The password entered by the children to turn on the television must be entered on a numeric keyboard, which is difficult for young children to use.
The apparatus described in the Beier patent also lacks an override capability to permit the parent to watch television or disable watching of television independently of the childrens' viewing time. Furthermore, the apparatus lacks the ability to program different viewing time limits for each day of the week. Also, the apparatus is not capable of calculating and displaying the total hours and average hours viewed by each child.
A limitation shared by all of the devices discussed above, and resolved by the invention described herein, is dependence on 120 volts AC for operating power. This requires that these devices be re-programmed whenever a power outage occurs. Another disadvantage associated with use of 120 volts AC power is that additional hardware is required for transforming the AC power to DC, regulating the internal supply voltage, etc.